Early History
Formerly a freighter named Kandelfels, she was built by Deschimag A.G. Weser in 1936, and was owned and operated by the Hansa Line, Bremen. She was the sister-ship of the Kybfels, and a half-sister of the Goldenfels (built by Bremer Vulkan), which was converted into the raider Atlantis.
In the winter of 1939/40, she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine (KM) and converted to a warship by Deschimag A.G. Weser, Bremen. Her main armament, six 150 mm L/45 C/13 guns was taken from the obsolete battleship Schlesien and she was also fitted with one 75 mm cannon, one twin 37 mm anti-aircraft mounting, four 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, and two single 53.3 cm torpedo tubes for 16 torpedoes. She was supplied with two Heinkel He 114A-2 seaplanes and 300 seamines. She also carried 25 G7a torpedoes and 80 U-Boat mines for replenishing U-Boats.
Read more about this topic: German Auxiliary Cruiser Pinguin
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or history:
“Probably more than youngsters at any age, early adolescents expect the adults they care about to demonstrate the virtues they want demonstrated. They also tend to expect adults they admire to be absolutely perfect. When adults disappoint them, they can be critical and intolerant.”
—The Lions Clubs International and the Quest Nation. The Surprising Years, I, ch.4 (1985)
“If usually the “present age” is no very long time, still, at our pleasure, or in the service of some such unity of meaning as the history of civilization, or the study of geology, may suggest, we may conceive the present as extending over many centuries, or over a hundred thousand years.”
—Josiah Royce (1855–1916)